dreaming over the ocean

I really ought to start writing short, frequent blogs.  But, seriously... who has time!?!? What has been going on in this little life of mine!? Well, I have been hammering out personal best times : In February, at the First Half Marathon, I ran a PB of 1:42:52. In March, I didn't race. In April, I ran a "almost" PB of 47:33, having done a 115km bike ride the day before with lots of climbing. In May, I ran *another* Half Marathon PB of 1:40:46 at the Vancouver BMO race. Of course, in order to do all that personal best racing, I also have to be training hard.  Training hard, but maintaining sanity is my motto these days. I have been working working working hard.  It has been very busy at Primary Outreach Services, and I have been really enjoying the work with the clients & am excited about the "system" changes that are happening at work.  Its new and exciting.   Its also stressful at times. I have also had the chance to take a great little get aw...

It was holiday time in early July!  And, for the... THIRD... time in my life, i went up to Alaska to enjoy the wilderness, spend time with my good friends Sam and Gretchen , spend 24hrs a day in the light, and get eaten alive by bugs.  Oh how much I love alaska, and oh how much it reminds me that i probably wouldn't mind doing some nursing up in the Northern Latitudes.  Sean and I had a few "discussions" prior to our trip, about what we planned on doing, as we tend to have opposite views as to what a holiday should look like.  I would love to just take off and spend a week in the backcountry.  Sean likes cultural activities. We tried to meet half way, and I think we did. Lets go through some of the highlights: My 30th birthday!   That's right, I'm now approaching the crest of the hill.  4th decade of life, bring.it.on.   We spent a few days in McCarthy, which is a wee small down at the end of a gravel road, surrounded by a national park....

It has been just over one week from St George 70.3 "US pro championship" race. Last year, after the Vancouver Subaru 1/2 Iron , I stated "it's hard to say which race is the hardest race I've ever done."  Well, I am 95% sure that I am confident to state that this was BY FAR the hardest race I have ever done.  And, im glad that I have waited a week to write this report.  It takes a while to digest races like St George. As my newest Vancouver Triathlete friend,  Erin , stated, when Ironman made this race the US pro championships, registration SOARED.  I barely got registered, as on Facebook, it stated that there were only 5 slots left. So, as planned, back in feb, I was registered.  It would be my first race in the (what I perceive as) super crazy fast new agegroup: females 30-34.  I counted the other registrants in my AG... 140.  WHAT THE?!?!  really? This kinda made me nervous.  And, when I saw that the super inspirational Sonja W ...

It seems as if this is a little "out of date" now, since SO MANY things have happened in the past few weeks.  That being so, the trip was so epic, and I loved it so much, and haven't talked about about it yet.  And, I tend to suspect that there are a few people who would appreciate a post on it! --------------------- A couple months ago, when my friend Kevin Shon brought forward the idea of climbing Mt. Rainier, I was a little skeptical, and VERY excited.  Would there possibly be the chance that "fate" would work out that a number of my friends from West Virginia would have the same period of time off, that we could engage in an epic adventure?  I knew that there was a small chance.  but, small is better than no-chance.  And, to increase the chances, it would be for me to say "yes." I knew for sure it would be something I would love to do. and, it came together.  5 Friends: myself from vancouver, Sam and Gretchen from Alaska, Kevin from.... every...

It's been a while since posting~  as I would say, because there is nothing going on.  But, truely, there have been great things happening.  Shortly after arriving back in Canada, from New Orleans,  I went right out to Tofino , for a short 3-day holiday with the Birch's.  The Birch Parent's were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, so everyone came together for a beautiful weekend! Staying at Middle Beach Lodge , we had plenty of time to sit and relax, walk on beaches, and eat nice west coast food!  I've been to Tofino once before , with my beautiful niece.  This was definitely a different trip, but, it is really nice to just be able to get out and relax.  I do think, however, that the next time that I am out there, I want to engage in a bit more "water sports."  Either do some surfing, or some kayaking, or something... one of the great things about being on the coast, is that there is so much ocean to take advantage of! As always,...

there is something to be said about memories.  I know that they change, and they fade and the morph from what actually happened.  That being said, these past two weeks have been chalked full of memories.  these past two weeks have been some of those days where you have to pinch yourself to be reminded that this actually happens in life.  There is certainly a magic about New Orleans.  That's for sure.  There is a magic about the people you meet, the food you eat, the music you listen and dance too. Sunday afternoon, Kirsten and I did something that I would never imagine that I would do... we went to a PGA Golf tournament, the " Zurich Classic. " We got all prepped up, and went to watch golf for all of about 45 minutes, then went to the post-party ;)  Kirsten had gotten free tickets, due to her connections with the high-rollers of NOLA.  I thought the whole thing was pretty funny, as people got  really into it.   lots of ooooing and ahhh...

First of all, I just want to give credit for the other people who have taken these photos... Sean (with his fantastic new camera), and Kirsten (with her Iphone).  If I didn't have these two, I wouldn't have the chronicles. I am supposed to be writing my final paper for school right now, and instead, I am sitting in a French Quarter Coffee shop just replaying and replaying my weekend in my head. I can't believe it is already a week after I have raced NOLA 70.3 (well... 2.1+52+13.1=67.2)... the time has just flown buy.  And, most of that time, I have no idea what I was doing.  I remember monday, when Kirsten brought us around NOLA looking at Banksy's and blighted properties  and graveyards , and having yummy breakfasts.  And, during breakfast, my beloved said something to the effect of "Are you going to phone air canada, and change that ticket?  I mean... its an opportunity not to be missed." but, really, it was this past weekend that just rocked my w...

In Celebration of the official first day of spring, that happened 5 days ago, I present to you a time-lapse video of flowers blooming.  I really like how some go super fast, and some are slower.  And how they all go with the catchy background music.  It just makes you feel good. Couple of big things going on. #1: it has been BEAUTIFUL in Montreal this last week.  We had a couple days of 20+ weather.  All the snow has melted, and little sprouts are coming out of the ground.  the most disapointing thing, though, is that i only have winter shoes.  and my toes want to be free.  yet, they can't be, because my sandals are in vancouver.  I think that makes a big difference in training, because you just want to be outside.  Despite the HUGE amount of school work that is happening right now, I was able to get a quality 14 hour week in.  but, it has now returned to the seasonal norms, which means: training goes back inside, and toes are...

This morning, I went out to the Chikela airport outside of Blantyre to drop off my beloved, after having him in Malawi for about 12 days.  It was so amazing to have him here... and, now, it is time to get back to "work."  Albeit, "work" here in Malawi seems so much different from work back in Montreal. After the 9 day holiday and a few days in Blantyre that we had together, there is lots to report on about the amazing things that we saw and experienced and people we met.  Like traveling to Likoma island.  And seeing monkeys in Monkey bay.  And seeing hippos and elephants in Liwonde national park.  And seeing fantastic rural community initiative projects.  It was a refreshing (though, somewhat tiring) time.  So, wait for the upcoming posts on those items! The boy i like was off this morning, to get back to "Real life." back to a place which is pretty much the furthest away possible from me on this earth.  back to a long distance relationsh...

Wow oh wow oh wow oh wow. Where do I start?  Well, maybe by saying that I do not want to not post about the 2 nd and 3 rd days of hiking mt mulanje.  They may not be as fresh in my head when I write about them, but, I am about to explode with the past couple days. Last night, I came home, and I could not stop smiling.  In the morning, I had said it outloud: this week, I have hiked a mountain , helped deliver close to 10 babies, done school work (which also included some not-so-great news about the ethics approval from University of Malawi about my project… but, at least it is something which provides at least some direction.) and have gotten to meet the archbishop of Canterbury . What the!??!? 

I love mountains.  there is just something about them that makes my heart happy, serene, and peaceful.  I love them anywhere... From the mighty Denali , to the rolling hills of West Virginia  and Vermont , to the mountains in Petra, Jordan , to the close to home Rockies.   There is just something about them that makes my heart happy.  oh right.  I already said that. so, when I found out that Malawi has the highest peak in central Africa, south of those famous ones up in tanzania and kenya, and North of the Drakensberg's, I was thrilled.   Mount Mulanje   hits a maximum peak of 3002m (9850ft), which, for those of you who need reference points:  Blackcomb mountain is 1609m, Mt Edith Cavell  3363 m  & Mt Robson is 3959m.   this " monadnock " is situated about 2hrs away (ish) (on minibus time) from Blantyre.  Long story short, I arranged with a new Australian friend of mine, that we would be able to hit up th...

WOW...  1 month since I left Edmonton, too travel over the ocean to this strange and distant land.  To fufill something that frequently happens in my dreams. to do something that I have never done before. And, you might think... you might think that I would have the time to update my blog and tell you all about everything that is going on here and the sights i see and the food i eat and the people i talk to. and, honestly, I probably do.  but, sometimes, it is hard to decipher what I want to write.  What is meaningful, both for myself, and for my readers. (if there are still any out there!) so... where to start?  First off, to say, I guess, that I LOVE being here.  There is something that just settles so right inside of my being.  something that makes me have this deep rooted peace.  I don't know Malawi very well, and my time being here is SO different from every experience that I have had in any other African nation.  (on that note,...